Dispute over sheriff’s budget aired in committee

Lenawee County Sheriff Jack Welsh complained he was left out of decisions on his department’s 2014 budget during a discussion Tuesday with county commissioners.

“I still have a real, real problem with the way this budget was handled,” Welsh said. “We haven’t been talked to. There has been no communication. I don’t know how this budget was done.”

There was no apparent change in commissioners’ position on the $26.6 million draft budget, which is up for a public hearing and adoption on Dec. 11. Welsh has asked the commission to add funding for two road patrol deputies and a jail officer next year at a cost of more than $200,000.

Commissioners are also considering requests for $60,000 to start an economic crimes unit in the county prosecutor’s office and $50,000 for marketing to attract new business to the county.

“I wish we had the money available to accommodate his request,” said county Administrator Martin Marshall. He said he talked with Welsh in July about personnel requests. Later, he said, the sheriff’s department was the only county agency that did not submit a budget request close its spending target.

Marshall said he went through Welsh’s budget proposal and made adjustments to reach the target level.

“These targets are not just pulled out of the air,” Marshall said. Figures were set based on analysis of budgets and past spending, he said.

There was no room for adding road patrol and jail staff, he said. His draft spending plan already uses $2 million of reserve funds, Marshall said, and he does not feel he can recommend spending more from reserves.

More than rejection of his staff requests, Welsh said he objected to finding line items changed in his budget without any discussion.

“How did you know I needed less money for extraditions and less money for training next year?” Welsh said.

“This is not the way it’s been done before,” Welsh said of the budget process.

Commissioner David Stimpson, R-Tecumseh, defended the changes that he said bring the budget in line with past actual spending.

“I find it difficult to accept that we make large cuts in line items without discussions with the professionals,” said commissioner Terry Collins, R-Adrian.

Commissioner Jim Driskill, R-Hudson, said the sheriff and jail commander say jail officers are being pushed to the limit with overtime work because there is not enough staff.

“That’s the bottom line. Is there a way we can work that out with the sheriff?” Driskill asked.

“Sometimes I feel like my expertise falls on deaf ears,” Welsh said.

Undersheriff James Anderson told the committee that the complaints and arguments could be avoided by talking about issues during the budget writing process.

“There’s got to be communication between the sheriff’s department and administrator’s office,” Anderson said. “Any time, any where, we’re willing to sit down and talk about it.”